The Servant was a London-based alternative band who were popular in Britain, France and Italy, as well as other European countries. In November 2007, the band announced through their MySpace blog that they were to split up. Their singles include Orchestra, Liquefy, Cells, and How to Destroy a Relationship. They share the singer, Dan Black, with Planet Funk.
Despite growing international demand, they had chosen to focus on strengthening their European audience before globe trotting. Their first introduction to an American audience was an instrumental version of their song Cells, featured in trailers for the film, Sin City. (The instrumental version of Cells is not on the Sin City soundtrack, but it can be downloaded via their website.) Cells was also used in the film Transporter 2, along with their song, Body. Since the Sin City trailers there has been significant U.S. interest in their records and demands for live concerts.
They released their second album, How to Destroy a Relationship, in October 2006 in Switzerland, Italy, and France.
Girlfriend
The Servant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm in misery
All the things you say
Kick into my brain
These soap opera lines
And I must've heard them fifty times
England gleefully
Weird philosophy
And ridiculous beliefs
Yes! You can win your dreams!
In bold on a magazine
She says I should be your girlfriend
You should be my boyfriend
We should be together you and me forever
But I just look away
Cause I don't know what to say
She says You're always telling me
'Oh there's greatness in me'.
But what've you actually
Ever really achieved?
And a nerve in me is hit
And I hate her more for it
She says I should be your girlfriend
You should be my boyfriend
We should be together you and me forever
But I just look away
Cause I don't know what to say
We make promises that we will never keep
There's so much stuff to say but we
We never speak
You should be my girlfriend
I should be your boyfriend
We should be together you and me forever
But you just look away
Cause you don't know what to say.......
The Servant's song Girlfriend is a track full of contradictions and conflicts. In the song, the singer's girlfriend tells him how he's mean to her and how she's in misery as all the things he says kick into her brain like soap opera lines that she has heard countless times before. While she acknowledges her misery, she also admits her obsession with love that comes in the form of reading magazines that promise her the ability to win her dreams. The singer, on the other hand, is incompetent in responding to her advances, as he doesn't know what to say when she says she should be his girlfriend. The lyrics are filled with a sense of desperation as both parties see themselves as incomplete without each other, yet they cannot seem to find the right words to express themselves.
The song explores the themes of unrequited love, insecurity, and miscommunication. The girl's desire to be the singer's girlfriend and the singer's inability to respond to her advances highlight the insecurities of both characters. The girl believes that being the singer's girlfriend will make her complete, while the singer is afraid of not being able to live up to the girl's expectations. The song's title, Girlfriend, is ironic as it implies that the singer has a girlfriend, yet his lack of response to the girl's advances suggests otherwise. The song's final lines, "We should be together you and me forever, but you just look away cause you don't know what to say," underscore the central theme of the song, miscommunication. In this way, the Servant uses the song to provide commentary on modern relationships, which are often plagued by miscommunication and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
She says You're so mean to me
She accuses him of being cruel to her
I'm in misery
His behavior makes her feel unhappy
All the things you say
His words hurt her
Kick into my brain
His words affect her deeply
These soap opera lines
His words are clichéd and melodramatic
And I must've heard them fifty times
She's tired of hearing the same things over and over again
England gleefully
The English culture has an enjoyable effect on him
Goes bleeding into me
The English culture has a deep impact on him
Weird philosophy
He has some unconventional beliefs
And ridiculous beliefs
He has some irrational ideas
Yes! You can win your dreams!
He believes in the possibility of achieving dreams
In bold on a magazine
He probably read it somewhere in print media
She says I should be your girlfriend
She expresses her desire to be his girlfriend
You should be my boyfriend
She expresses her wish that he becomes her boyfriend
We should be together you and me forever
She wants their relationship to last forever
But I just look away
He avoids the conversation
Cause I don't know what to say
He's unsure of his feelings
You're always telling me
She points out that he constantly flatters her
'Oh there's greatness in me'
He thinks highly of himself
But what've you actually Ever really achieved?
She challenges him to prove his worth
And a nerve in me is hit
Her comment hurts him
And I hate her more for it
He resents her for making him feel bad
We make promises that we will never keep
They both make promises, but never fulfill them
There's so much stuff to say but we
Despite having a lot to talk about
We never speak
They never communicate
You should be my girlfriend
He feels that she should be his girlfriend
I should be your boyfriend
He wants to be her boyfriend
But you just look away
She ignores his advances
Cause you don't know what to say.......
She's not sure of her feelings for him
Contributed by Riley O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.